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We have introduced our NAKED proto PCB service to help design engineers who have told us that they need to modify their proof-of-concept PCBs “on the bench” by cutting tracks and soldering on wire-links. Soldermasks and silkscreens make this more difficult, so our NAKED proto service delivers 2-layer boards without mask or legend. Of course, if you need fully finished 2- and 4-layer prototypes, then continue to use our well-established PCB proto service.

NAKED proto brings other benefits:

Almost 50% lower costs: NAKED PCBs are priced around 50% lower than fully-finished PCBs. As well as dropping masks and legends, the NAKED proto service restricts boards to 2 layers and the quantities available to 1, 2 or 5 pieces. This allows us to leverage the maximum benefit from order-pooling. Also, NAKED PCBs have to start from “known good” data. Before you place a NAKED proto order, you must run your data-set through PCB Visualizer. If PCB Visualizer raises any issues, fix them and upload the data again. As soon as PCB Visualizer confirms that the data is good, place your order.

1 day delivery: By starting from known-good data and dropping the mask and legend printing and curing cycles, we can offer 1 day deliveries. Upload your data and place your order before midnight CET and we will ship the next working day by overnight courier. So if you order on Monday, we will ship on Tuesday and you will receive the boards on Wednesday in all parts of Europe where couriers provide a next working day service. Otherwise order on 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 day deliveries.

The introduction of NAKED proto is part of our mission to provide professional PCB designers with the tools they need to develop their designs and bring them to market on time and on budget. But, as a responsible European company, we also have a duty to encourage and develop new generations of PCB engineers.. We already sponsor student projects all over Europe (see our blogs). We see NAKED proto as another part of this duty. We can help tomorrow’s engineers, whether students or hobbyists, by providing affordable prototype PCBs for their personal projects. Lower cost cannot mean lower quality: they need to debug their designs, not their fabricator’s PCBs. NAKED proto gives students and hobbyists access to low-cost PCBs of proven quality on reliable deliveries from a leading European supplier, who can also support them with technical back-up from white-papers and blogs to online chat with PCB engineers.

NAKED Proto service parameters

Number of layers

1, 2

Quantities

1, 2, 5

Delivery terms

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 days

Maximum PCB dimension

580mm x 425mm and equal of customer panels

Minimum PCB dimension

5mm x 5mm for boards - 50 mm x 50 mm for panels

Base material

FR-4, Td>=325°C, T260>=60’, T288>=10’, CTEz=<3.5%, Tg>=150°C

Base material thickness

1.55mm

Base copper foil– outer layers

18µm/½oz

Surface finish

Any lead free

Min. track width/spacing

0.150mm / 0.175mm

Min. finished hole size

0.25mm

Minimum outer layer pad diameter = finished hole size + listed value

0.350mm - PTH - 0.250mm - NPTH

Minimum copper to board-edge clearance – outer layers

0.250mm (routed)

Slots and cut-outs

2.0, 1.2 and 0.5mm tool

Delivery panels

2.0mm break-routed or V-cut

Stencil material

100µm and 130µm

595 x 595 mm

The NAKED proto calculator only allows calculations with the values described in this article. Explore all PCB Pooling services from Eurocircuits if you are in need of other parameters: